PROMOTING GOAL MEMBERSHIP IN YOUR CLUB

Why should your club promote GOAL membership?

Plain and simple, because GOAL derives its strength from its members. The more members we have, the more “clout” we have - politically and legislatively. Look at what we’ve been able to accomplish in the last three years alone – the restoration of funds to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the creation of the Firearms Licensing Review Board, and the protection of ranges from closure – and think of how much more we could accomplish with additional members.

During the past few years, a number of clubs in Massachusetts have taken steps to ensure the continued success of GOAL by promoting GOAL membership. Here are some ideas for your club!

Ways your club can help increase GOAL’s membership:

·       Make sure your club always has a supply of GOAL membership applications on hand.

·       At each club meeting, a Club Representative should present a GOAL report, and urge members to join GOAL.

·       Your club can print or enclose a GOAL application with your club’s newsletter. If you wish, we can even arrange to give your club members a discount on GOAL membership

·       At each club meeting, ask every member for a $5 donation. Then put all of the donations in a hat. Draw one name for each $30 collected, and give the winner a one-year membership in GOAL. If the winner is already a member of GOAL, they can choose to add a year to their current membership or donate the membership to another club member. Or, you may choose to save the money and donate a Sustaining (life) membership in GOAL to a lucky club member.

·       Print a GOAL application at the bottom of your club membership application, or include one with your new member packet.

·       Increase the new member application fee by $30 to include a new GOAL membership (that is, require all new members to become members of GOAL).

FIND OUT HOW MANY MEMBERS ARE CURRENTLY GOAL MEMBERS:

You might be surprised at how many people claim to be GOAL members, but are not. We know some of the confusion comes from the fact that many other clubs print their news in ^The Outdoor Message just like GOAL. People at those clubs sometimes falsely claim that because the club prints its news in ^The Outdoor Message, that all club members are members automatically of GOAL, which is not true.

 If you would like to know how many of your club members are current members of GOAL, you may submit a list of names and address of club members to GOAL’s membership secretary. The list will be returned indicating who are current and former GOAL members. Your list will be held confidential. Call before sending your list to make arrangements.